The present invention is directed to control devices for bicycles and, more particularly, to a bracket assembly used to support a motor for controlling a bicycle transmission.
Motor controlled bicycle transmissions sometimes use a motor connected to an elongated control cable which, in turn, is connected to the bicycle transmission. The motor operates the bicycle transmission by selectively pulling and releasing the control cable. One of the design considerations of such motor controlled bicycle transmissions is how and where to mount the motor to the bicycle. Mounting the motor directly to the bicycle frame can be difficult because the motor often interferes with other bicycle components such as the wheels, sprockets, drive chain, brakes, and other structures mounted to the bicycle frame itself. The problem may be compounded by the shape of the frame, which may be curved or angled in such a way as to make mounting of the motor difficult. To avoid such problems, it has been proposed to mount the motor on the side of the bicycle frame. However, with such a design the laterally projecting motor may interfere with the motion of the rider. Also, the motor may be damaged by passing objects or if the bicycle falls over. In some cases a specially designed frame can be made to accommodate the motor, but that increases the cost of the bicycle. Also, the motor used with the special frame can not be transferred to another frame without difficulty, and a motor from a different frame can not be used with the special frame.